


so, this is love?

by jooniesgukkie



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Friends to Lovers, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Kim Mingyu/Xu Ming Hao | The8, Romance, Tags May Change, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 08:54:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29132871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jooniesgukkie/pseuds/jooniesgukkie
Summary: after seven long years of living together, minghao decides to come home to china leaving wonwoo alone in an apartment that's too big for one person, a few things that used to belong to him, and an onslaught of feelings wonwoo has to figure out how to confront by himself (and maybe with mingyu's help).
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu, Kim Mingyu/Xu Ming Hao | The8
Comments: 3
Kudos: 16





	so, this is love?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, i am back with a new fic. ☺️

here is a detailed recap of the events that occurred on the day before xu minghao was set to depart korea as told by his former roommate and best friend, jeon wonwoo: 

the day started off perfectly normal. well, as perfectly normal as things could be since in no less than 18 hours, wonwoo would have the apartment solely under his care after seven long years of rooming with minghao. 

said roommate was coming home to anshan in china for reasons only minghao could fully answer; therefore, consider wonwoo as a third perspective in this narration. his role here was to simply help out minghao in his transition to a new chapter in his life and maybe become an unwilling witness to what had transpired. 

(they both promised they would remain the closest of friends though, despite the astounding distance. after all, living together for almost a decade makes them deeply intertwined in each other’s lives.) 

minghao was packing what was left of his belongings since most of it was already shipped home a couple of months ago. he was just sorting through the highly fashionable articles of clothing, picking the ones to be fit in his suitcases and ones he’ll leave behind for wonwoo to use or dispose of. 

“do you like this one?” minghao held up an oversized wool cardigan with garish patches that wonwoo had seen him wear once or twice. it looked hideous in minghao’s hands but wonwoo knew that once his friend wore it, he could make it look like he came out of a gucci catalogue. 

if minghao could make it look like he was a top model straight off fashion week, wonwoo doubted it would have the same effect on him. worst-case scenario, he would be mistaken for a homeless man wandering aimlessly in the streets. minghao did help wonwoo brush up on his style but there was only so much he could sacrifice for the sake of fashion. 

“it’s a pass for me.” wonwoo scrunched his nose. 

he didn’t really need another cardigan when minghao already left him his pricey coffee maker and a few of the film cameras from his prized collection. on top of that, wonwoo would be in charge of taking care of the succulents in minghao’s former bedroom. 

“to the box it is, then.” minghao mumbled, carelessly tossing the cardigan onto the ‘for wonwoo’s disposal’ box like it didn’t cost him a fourth of his monthly allowance back then. 

the two of them fell into comfortable silence as they worked together. minghao would go through his closet, decide if the item was forgone or for keeps and handed them to wonwoo whose job was to fold them and put them in their proper place.

wonwoo was a little sad to see his friend go but he was well aware that minghao had ambitions that were larger than life. he wasn’t the type to settle down, comfort and familiarity bored him to death therefore, he was always seeking the thrill of venturing uncharted waters. 

he and wonwoo were polar opposites in this matter. wonwoo preferred the security of what was familiar and tangible. the thought of doing something out of the box frightened wonwoo to death. being adventurous was certainly not jeon wonwoo’s core aesthetic. 

the peace and quiet that engulfed the apartment was interrupted when the ringing of the doorbell seized the entire apartment. it didn’t take a second for minghao to drop what he was doing and race to the front door to claim his special guest. (it was no-brainer for wonwoo to know who it was, but for the sake of the narrative, it would remain a mystery.) 

minghao returned to the bedroom with the widest smile plastered on his face and his boyfriend in tow. said boyfriend was a six-foot-plus stunner with a body sculpted by the gods, a face akin to that of men in renaissance paintings, and a personality that would sweep your mother off her feet, begging you to make him her son-in-law. 

“hey, wonwoo.” kim mingyu greeted wonwoo casually when he walked past him squatting on the floor. 

wonwoo just nodded his head in acknowledgment and carried on with folding minghao’s clothes like a signal to the couple that said ‘go on schmoozing with each other. i’m not here, i’m just a ghost in thin air’. wonwoo had been minghao and mingyu’s third wheel for so long that all that he had already been desensitized to all the sappy shit he had to witness. 

mingyu sat on the edge of the bed and kept on distracting minghao from finishing his task, which was almost done by the way, thanks to wonwoo even though nobody asked. 

a few moments later, the innocent poking plus tickling turned into full-on flirting with multiple occasions of pecking on the lips and suggestive touches that the couple failed to be subtle with. wonwoo, even though he was the designated third-wheel in this relationship, decided that he had a line to draw for self-preservation and this was his clear cue to leave the two lovebirds alone. 

“i’m hungry.” wonwoo announced, breaking the couple apart momentarily. “i’ll go get something to eat. do you want anything?” he asked out of courtesy even though he wasn’t planning to treat them food out of spite for their microaggression towards single people. 

minghao shook his head and smiled. “no need, wonu. we’ll be okay.” he said. mingyu just nodded his head in agreement. 

“alright.” 

wonwoo made a beeline straight to his room, collected his wallet plus phone, and went out of the door. a huge bowl bibimbap and tteokbokki to his heart’s content at this hour sounded like a pretty solid idea. 

wonwoo got home not more than two hours later, happy and full even though his wallet was weeping with the amount of food he had splurged himself on. (he might have been distracted by the tekken arcade right outside the convenience store in the corner of the street too, but no one has to know.) 

the satisfaction wonwoo experienced was short-lived because a sudden sense of dread was brewing at the pits of his stomach. he tried to shrug it off because his mind might have been playing dirty tricks on him again but with each step he took, the more that he began to worry. 

as soon as he entered home, he was welcomed by the suffocating tension that bled through his and minghao’s shared space. his worries were confirmed because he heard the muffled yelling coming from minghao’s half-opened bedroom door. 

the whole situation was bothersome. just a while ago, he left with minghao and mingyu acting all star-crossed and madly in love with each other. wonwoo could tell the fight was serious because minghao was raising his voice. minghao rarely raised his voice, moreso getting angry because he had a massive amount of self-control wonwoo wished he mastered too. 

wonwoo didn’t mean to eavesdrop but the walls were thin making it difficult to tune out the situation. he was frozen in his spot as soon as he realized where the argument was heading to. 

“do you know how stupid you sound, hao?”

“i’m being perfectly rational, mingyu.” 

“no, i do not accept your proposition. we could make this work. i know a lot of people who have been in long-distance relationships and look where they are now, still madly in love and happy.” 

“we are not like them, mingyu! what if it doesn’t turn out like that?” 

“why?” 

“i can’t have you waste your life waiting for me. i do not want the both of us to hold each other back, so it’s better if we give each other the space to think about what we truly want.” 

“i could fly to china if you want me to. just say the word and i will drop everything for you.” 

“no, mingyu.” 

“then what do you want me to do?” 

“let’s just break up for real.” 

“no, i love you. don’t do this to me.”

“i love you too, that's why i’m setting you free.” 

“hao i----” 

“gyu, please.” 

“is this what you really want?”

a beat of silence. 

before wonwoo could process what was truly happening, mingyu stormed out of the bedroom with the most painful expression etched on his pristine features. he walked past wonwoo without sparing a glance and slammed the door shut, making wonwoo flinch in his position. 

it did not take long for minghao to emerge from his room, eyes red from crying. his distraught face morphed into shock when he realized wonwoo was standing there in the middle of the mess he and mingyu created. 

“how much did you hear?” he asked, voice quivering. 

instead of a reply, wonwoo walked over to minghao and engulfed him in a tight hug hoping his gesture could offer some form of comfort. for the first time in the years of knowing each other, minghao allowed himself to crumble under wonwoo’s hold--- crying his heart out for what seemed like forever but wonwoo did not mind. 

to be completely honest, wonwoo was at a loss for words. he had never been in this difficult situation but he hoped that in the days to come, minghao and mingyu found the right answers to the things they were both searching for without each other’s presence. 

“just let it all out.” wonwoo willed himself to say as he rubbed soothing circles on minghao’s back. “things will fall into place in due time.” 

the following morning, wonwoo drove minghao to the airport. mingyu was the one who was supposed to send minghao off but considering what happened the day before, it was off the list. so wonwoo did his best to step up in filling in for mingyu’s spot as minghao’s best friend. 

wonwoo assisted minghao in loading up his bags onto the cart and accompanied him to the check-in gates until the boarding for his flight back home was announced. minghao maintained a somber mood, refusing to talk and occasionally sniffling. his eyes were red and puffy from the lack of sleep and amount of crying he did last night, so wonwoo just let him be. 

when his flight was called through the tinny speakers, minghao hugged wonwoo for the last time to say goodbye. “thank you wonwoo.” he sobbed onto wonwoo’s shoulder. “i’ll miss you so much.” 

wonwoo could feel tears prick the corner of his eyes but he fought off the urge to cry. “i’ll miss you so much too.” he echoed. “have a safe flight and call me once you’ve arrived.” 

“it’s a promise, wonwoo.” minghao smiled weakly before he turned on his heel to walk towards the gates. wonwoo wiped away a stray tear that had escaped his eye as he watched minghao’s retreating figure disappear into the crowd. 

that folks, was how xu minghao and kim mingyu’s three blissful years of a picture-perfect relationship went down the drain in a snap of a finger as told by the unwilling witness, jeon wonwoo. 

  
  
  
  


“c’mon, hurry up.” wonwoo mumbles under his breath, tapping the steering wheel with impatient fingers. there’s still ten seconds left on the clock before the lights turn green but it’s still ten seconds too long. 

at around two in the morning, wonwoo is already fast asleep in his warm bed when his phone rings and mingyu’s name appears on the caller id. wonwoo thinks mingyu might have butt-dialed him by mistake but when he answers the phone---- it’s bad. 

“wonuuu, heeey” mingyu drawls on the other line. his voice is barely audible because the incredibly loud music is drowning him out. 

“what’s up, mingyu?”

“i-is hao w-with you? i’ve b-been trying to call him but h-he’s not answering.” mingyu hiccups. “c-can you l-let me talk to him?” 

“he’s in china, mingyu.” wonwoo sighs. “are you out drinking?” 

“c-china?” 

“yes, minghao is in china. did you forget?” 

“y-you’re lying to me.” 

“i’m not.”

“l-let m-me talk to h-him.” mingyu orders. “i-i forgot to t-tell him ‘i love you’ today. p-please.” 

“mingyu, are you drunk?” 

“no!” mingyu retorts, letting out a string of curses afterwards because he seemed to have hit something. “w-why won’t y-you let m-me talk to hao?” 

wonwoo pinches the bridge of his nose. he hops off his bed and gathers his car keys laid on the dresser. he has no choice but to find mingyu and get him home before the man does something he regrets because he’s flat out drunk. 

“i’ll let you talk to him if you tell me where you are.” 

“really?” mingyu giggles like a small child on the phone. “i-i’m at s-shining d-diamond.” 

“okay, mingyu. wait for me there.” wonwoo instructs him. “just stay still, don’t move. i’ll be there in a few.” 

“okay, i’ll be a good boy.” 

wonwoo hangs up the line and types in the location on his gps. mingyu is in itaewon and that is almost half an hour away from where he lives. wonwoo gets in his car, starts the engine, and drives away. 

back to the present, there two seconds left on the clock but wonwoo can no longer wait so he steps on the gas pedal, traffic laws be damned. he’s probably broken a third of seoul’s traffic regulations in the past fifteen minutes but the amount of tickets he’ll get is the last thing in his mind. 

wonwoo scrunches his nose in disgust the moment he enters _shining diamond_. the strobe lights are blinding him and the music is making his ears pound. the entire place smells of smoke, body sweat, and god knows what. it’s almost daybreak but the rave going on inside is far from dying down. 

inasmuch as minghao likes this kind of scene and has tried to rope wonwoo to come with him on a few occasions before, this is much worse and wonwoo is reminded by how much he hates these things but he is left without any choice. 

damn you, kim mingyu. 

wonwoo ducks and weaves through the maze of sweaty bodies, some onlookers giving him weird stares. after all, who in their right mind would enter one of itaewon’s biggest clubs in a padded coat and frayed cotton pyjamas? 

even in the terrible lighting plus his near-blind visual acuity, wonwoo pays them no mind and keeps his eyes open for any sign of mingyu. he’s almost close to giving up when he reaches the far end of the club and luckily, he spots his target seated at the bar. 

“wonu, a-are y-you pr-proud?” mingyu calls out to him. “i stayed still like a good boy.” he points to himself proudly. 

mingyu is precariously perched on top of a bar stool and by the looks of it, he’s too far gone. his eyes are squinting and he’s struggling to maintain his balance. one small flick and he will totally land face first on the bar countertop. 

“excuse me, how much did he drink?” wonwoo turns to the bartender who is busy wiping down the counters with a wet rag. 

the bartender pauses and looks at wonwoo. “he’s been here since seven, sir. hasn’t stopped drinking since then.” he says. he grabs a small clipboard from below and hands it to wonwoo. “this is his tab.” 

wonwoo winces at the exorbitant total of mingyu’s bill. no doubt that mingyu is in this state because he’s drunk more than what he could handle. 

“he’s also managed to break two glasses. as per company guidelines, i have to charge it to his bill, sir.” the bartender supplies. 

it’s a good thing wonwoo has the mind to carry his wallet because mingyu, for the life of him, cannot be bothered to even reach his own pockets. wonwoo reluctantly gives the generous wad of bills to the bartender. 

that money is supposed to be his grocery budget for the next two weeks but he supposes he’ll have to do with convenience store cuisine in the meantime until his next salary release. 

wonwoo carries mingyu to his car with the help of the bartender. he tucks mingyu in the passenger seat so that he could keep an eye on him and hands him a plastic bag wonwoo keeps in the glove compartment in case he feels the need to vomit. (having party animals like kwon soonyoung and lee seokmin in your friendship circle teaches you a thing or two about babysitting drunk people.) 

wonwoo pulls up right in front of mingyu’s apartment complex. he looks at mingyu and finds that the guy’s head is already lolling to the side, soft snores escaping his lips. 

“mingyu, you’re home.” wonwoo tries to jostle him awake but the other doesn’t budge. “gyu.” he tries again, rubbing mingyu’s shoulders but he’s out like a light. 

left with no choice, wonwoo steps out of the car and goes to mingyu’s side. he opens the door gently and quickly supports mingyu’s head back with his free hand. he frees mingyu off the seatbelt and now wonwoo is faced with the challenge of transporting mingyu from the doorway to his unit. 

wonwoo hoists a barely conscious mingyu and drapes him across his shoulders. he can almost feel his back cave in because mingyu is really heavy. wonwoo sighs as he drags mingyu all the way to the complex. 

by the time they arrived in front of mingyu’s doorstep, wonwoo is a little breathless. thank goodness, his efforts of going to the gym paid off because his knees would’ve buckled within a minute of carrying the guy. if mingyu did not live on the ground floor of the complex, wonwoo would have deliberately left him at the bottom of the staircase to rot. 

he tries to balance the drunk guy over his shoulders as he flips the plastic pot where mingyu hides his spare key. wonwoo knows this because when mingyu and minghao used to be a couple, wonwoo has to sacrifice his rights to his own residence in the wee hours of the evening to give the two of them alone time and he can’t work in public places so mingyu’s home is the most win-win solution. 

once they’re inside the house, wonwoo drags mingyu to the bathroom and he sits the inebriated boy on top of the toilet bowl in order to at least clean him up before tucking him to bed. 

after all, wonwoo is no stranger in taking care of minghao and soonyoung once they reach the point of inebriation. therefore, with mingyu it shouldn’t be too different, he supposes. plus, it will help mingyu feel a little less shittier when he wakes up. 

wonwoo begins his work by unbuttoning mingyu’s soiled shirt and taking off his pants before he discards it onto the side. he grabs mingyu’s toothbrush off the rack, slathers toothpaste on it, and brushes mingyu’s teeth himself to wash off the remnants of liquor in his mouth. 

afterwards, wonwoo grabs a small towel, washes it with soap and warm water before lathering it onto mingyu’s body carefully. he swipes through mingyu’s neck, arms, chest, and legs until the other man smells less like whiskey and more of fresh soap. he washes mingyu’s face with his hands gently. he finishes up by drying mingyu and wrapping him up with a warm towel. 

he carries mingyu to the bedroom and changes him into a pair of pyjamas he found in mingyu’s closet before tucking him to bed. for extra measure, wonwoo pulls the blanket all the way to mingyu’s chin to prevent him from getting cold. 

wonwoo runs back to the bathroom to rummage through the medicine cabinet for some painkillers and grabs a water bottle from the kitchen on his way back. he sets them on the nightstand, writes a small note for mingyu to read, and alas, his work here is now done.

wonwoo gathers the remaining bits of his strength to take a look at mingyu, who is now sleeping peacefully without a care in the world. he studies mingyu’s features; from his long eyelashes, to the slope of his tall nose down to the curve of his full lips. without the other knowing, wonwoo hesitantly runs a hand through mingyu’s hair, feeling the soft strands between his fingertips now that he finally gets the chance. 

wonwoo cannot understand how minghao could have wasted someone as magnificent as kim mingyu but he instantly shakes the thoughts away. it’s much easier if wonwoo lets himself believe that he’s taking an extra mile because mingyu is another friend who’s dear to him, not someone he’s secretly in love with longer than the time mingyu and his best friend had been together. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i didn't mean to be back so soon with a new fic but i had an idea and i knew i had to work on it right away. this fic will probably be less angstier than an ode and if there's nothing left (if you're new, please check them out of you have the time.) but surely, i'll try to make the journey a roller coaster ride as well. 
> 
> all the love, jooniesgukkie
> 
> p.s. i'd be really happy to read your thoughts regarding this fic so please leave a comment down below. don't forget to leave some kudos too! 
> 
> thank u & see u next update


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